The Future isn’t Orange After All.

The hunting bill demonstrates how prone to misconception metropolitan government can be when it comes to the realities of country living so it is no surprise to discover it thinks parish councils are still made up of squires, doctors and other local worthies who are - there because of who they are rather than what they might contribute - yet are still running things.

Although this view - if it were ever true in the first place – is at least 50 years out of date; the government’s proposal to create Quality Parish Councils seems based on it. We shall have little choice as to whether or not we wish to become a ‘Quality’ council because; the decree is accompanied by a thinly veiled threat that we have to either shape up or give up.

One of the criteria for becoming a Quality Parish Council is the submission of regular monthly reports to parishioners through vehicles like this magazine. For villages like Blakeney and Cley this is probably not too difficult. But while Wiveton Parish Council executes its duties enthusiastically, they are, as one would expect in such a small village, very much run of the mill and would make dreadfully dull and repetitive reading. The only way I could see for us to meet this requirement would be for me to make stuff up.

I could write reports on Wiveton's progress in trying to twin itself with some small Transylvanian community in the Carpathian Mountains, or our bid to host some of the more introverted disciplines for the 2012 Olympics. Events like synchronised and endurance skipping, the ladies coxless eights tug-o-war, short distance cartwheeling, and the cross-country hop could all be easily accommodated. The difficulty with all this of course is that when real news has to be reported nobody is likely to believe it. Which brings me, without making anything up, to a genuine report that could not be more unbelievable.

As most of you will be aware Orange applied for permission to erect a 25.5 metre telecommunications mast in the wood just the north of the A149 Coast Road opposite Blakeney Church. They were turned down and then appealed against the decision. The likelihood that appeal would succeed seemed high. Orange has huge resources with which to fight such appeals and there is also a government presumption in their favour under the freedom of information act. Basically that people have a right to a good signal on their mobile brain scramblers wherever they happen to be.

In 2003 the Parishes of Stiffkey, Morston, Langham, Blakeney and Cley, along with Wiveton decided that their chairmen would meet together at least once every year [more than that if required] to examine how we might best to use our combined strengths and wider electoral base to our mutual benefit.

It was this alliance that brought together the councils of Cley, Morston, Blakeney and Wiveton to successfully oppose the original application and was also crucial in finally getting Orange's appeal turned down. The final submission to the appeal was agreed upon by these four Parishes and carried the signatures of Mrs Anne Wootten, Chair Blakeney PC, James Temple Chair, Morston PC, Richard Kelham Chair, Cley PC, and myself for Wiveton. The fact that the inspector mentions this coalition in her report demonstrates how effective it was.

There were however, other factors working for us, the main one being Orange's extremely blasé approach to its own submission. Orange was so confident that the presumption in its favour would carry it through that it did not bother to produce a water tight case. We were able to exploit this to our advantage.

It cannot often happen that a small village can take on a business giant and win. The Inspector’s report notes the submissions by NNDC and CRPRE but it is clear that the combined parishes played a decisive role.

The option of using Blakeney Church Tower to house the mast (thus hiding it) remains open to Orange. If Orange is serious about filling the gap in their coverage it must now see the tower as a viable option that would give equally good coverage, be safer for the school and have the added benefit of revenue for the Church.

All in all, this was a very surprising and satisfactory result. It shows that parish councils can produce quality results. And isn't it good to know that the world isn't Orange after all?

Godfrey Sayers

Chairman Wiveton Parish Council